Expat Advice: How to Drive Through a U.S. City

For drivers who haven’t experienced what it’s like driving through a large city, here are some tips that will help you conquer your new adventure:

It is essential to understand precisely what you will come across when driving through a large city. You’ll encounter traffic jams, bumper to bumper traffic, roadwork, closed lanes, accidents, taxis, etc…

When driving in the city, it is always a safe bet to stay in the middle or right lane. Most of the time the middle and right lane are slower paced and are considered to be more reliable.

Watch out for taxi drivers, a lot of the time in route to picking up at a pedestrian, a taxi driver will suddenly and unexpectedly swerve over. Be aware of taxis and avoid driving behind or to the sides of them as much as possible.

Try to avoid driving during rush hour. Usually, rush hour is from roughly 7 am to 9 am, then again from 4 pm to 6:30 pm. Try to head into the city before or after these times, and you shouldn’t experience any delays.

Most people ride a bicycle in their lifetime, so in cities with millions of people, there are bound to be a lot of bicyclists. Keep an eye out for bicyclists both on the road, in the bike lane, or even crossing a crosswalk. Bicyclists should always get the right of way.

If you want to be more efficient and want more automation in your driving, you might want to consider getting an automatic transmission vehicle. With all the stop and go action of driving through a city, driving a manual transmission vehicle can be kind of aggravating. So keep that in mind.

Fill up the tank. You don’t want to be stuck with less than a quarter of a tank.

Keep an eye out for pedestrians. In cities, jaywalkers are everywhere. Jaywalkers are people who crossroads where they shouldn’t. However, even though they are jaywalking, you should not pass them until they are safely on the sidewalk. Once the pedestrian is on the sidewalk, you can proceed forward.

Take these tips and use them while you’re driving through the city. Drive safely.